50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Preview

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Wankstas not welcome.

By Hilary Goldstein

Never double-cross Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. This is the lesson the criminal underworld is set to learn in 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. A sequel to 2005's Bulletproof, Blood on the Sand puts 50 in a very different hood. Mr. Cent and his G-Unit crew have traveled to an unnamed "war-torn" desert country to put on a show. Fitty is paid with a high-priced jewel, but that gem is stolen by some thugs. Bad move.

Described as a cross between Three Kings and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Blood on the Sand is a tongue-in-cheek fast-paced shooter. Though 50 Cent is always on the scene with gun cocked, he is joined by one member of G-Unit controlled either by a friend online or by the AI. Before the start of each mission, you choose your sidekick to be Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks or DJ Whoo Kid. Each has his own bag of quips and a unique weapon.

The action is fairly constant as players shoot their way through more than 20 missions. You can play a straight up run and gun or use the cover system for more paced style of play. It's arcade action this time around -- there's not a hint of developer Swordfish Studios trying to be "realistic." You can do all the tricks now staples of stop-and-pop shooters. You can destroy the environment (so many explosive barrels of oil!) and use blindfire.

The cover system isn't meant to slow you down. It's to be used to thin out enemy ranks before rushing forward and finishing them off. And you will want to charge in at some point, because there are 20 counter kill moves only available when up close and personal. These brutal kill moves are interactive, requiring you to hit the proper face button when the icon flashes on screen. You'll gut enemies, slash throats and otherwise brutalize and humiliate those who would dare steal from 50 Cent.

Another incentive for quickening your own pace is the arcade scoring system. You earn points for kill combos, such as launching an enemy and shooting them while they're airborne. Boost your combo meter enough and you're ammo transforms to explosive or incendiary bullets.

As you purge the world of jewel thieves, terrorists and drug cartels, bonus objectives will occasionally appear on screen. These timed objectives will often task you with killing extra enemies quickly. Doing so boosts your score and earns you extra cash, which can be used to purchase more weapons, counter-kill moves and taunts. Those purchases can be made between missions or from phones you find in each level.

50 Cent is bulletproof, as we all know, yet for the sake of gameplay, Swordfish Studios is allowing him to take damage. Don't worry -- Blood on the Sand uses a progressive health system. Just stay out of the line of fire for a few seconds and Fitty's body will reject the bullets.

If things get to hectic, you can enter Gangsta Fire Mode, which is a sly way to say "Bullet Time." Gangsta Fire Mode works in typical fashion with the world slowing, allowing you to more precisely aim your fire, while also dodging incoming fire. No word on how this works in co-op, but we'll assume both players would enter bullet time together.

Along with plenty of missions on foot, there are two driving missions. Your sidekick drives and Fitty mans a machinegun to take out enemies as you race through the desert. On top of this, there's a flying mission with Fitty and friend manning Gatling guns to put the kibosh on a drug cartel.

All of this insane action is done with classic 50 Cent and G-Unit tracks playing in the background. Plus, you can expect some new and, yes, exclusive tracks as well. The only thing you can't expect is to actually be a gangsta just by playing Blood on the Sand. But at least you can live vicariously through 50 cent this fall.